Reagan's State of Union Message

President Reagan's State of the Union address was much too long. He could, and should, have limited it to five sentences, as follows:

"In the 189 years before I was elected President, this nation had accumulated a national debt of 1 trillion dollars. I doubled that to 2 trillion in just five years. In 1980 we were the greatest creditor nation in the world. Under my stewardship we have become the greatest debtor nation in all of history. In addition to these accomplishments, I have successfully thwarted every attempt at arms control or arms reduction."